Tagged: Ben Revere

Feel bad for Jeremy Hellickson; this poor guy pitched one of his best games and came away with nothing to show for it last night against the Nationals. Hellickson allowed only 1 run over 7 innings with 8 strikeouts and no walks. Taking him out with only 79 pitches was questionable, but then again the end of the Phillies bullpen has been very solid.

Alas, neither the Phillies offense nor bullpen did well on this night. Not even the bland, murky camouflage Memorial Day uniforms could inspire this team. The painfully weak Phils offense mustered only 6 hits, going 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position. Freddy Galvis hit a solo homer in the 6th inning and Hellickson executed an awesome squeeze bunt in the 2nd, which scored Cesar Hernandez. And that was mostly the end of the batting excitement.

The real blow came in the 8th inning, when with 2 outs and ex-Phillie Ben Revere at bat, Hector Neris became obsessed with the runner at first base. Multiple throw overs and even a pitch out seemed to totally break his concentration, which is something you absolutely cannot do with a guy batting around .170 at the plate. His only concern should have been Revere, who has been a very easy out lately. Instead, Neris walked the light-hitting Revere and then put two more on base. That left him to face super-hot Daniel Murphy, who is batting almost .400 and already had a double and a homer in the game. As expected, Murphy singled in the second run of the inning.

Even so, the Phillies almost got to closer Jonathan Papelbon in the 9th. They scored one running, making it a 3-4 ballgame with no outs. But then instead of pinch hitting Andres Blanco, who has a number of big hits off Papelbon, the Phillies put in rookie Tommy Joseph, who has never faced Papelbon. Hello??? Of course, he struck out, as did Hernandez after him. And then Tyler Goedell lined out to end the game. Blanco was left on deck and never made it to the plate.

This was one frustrating loss; the Phillies have now lost 8 of their last 10 games thanks to a weak offense and some very bad moves. Hopefully, they can rebound tonight!

A recent article in The New Yorker described going down the rabbit hole as “a bizarre and disorienting alternate reality.” That perfectly describes how many Phillies fans feel at the halfway point of the 2015 season. We followed the Phillies here and have now fallen into the proverbial, Alice in Wonderland-esque rabbit hole.

This team is such a departure from that of the 2008-2011 teams that watching them really does feel like a bad acid trip. The Phillies are dead last in all of baseball with a 29-62 record. Their closer, Jonathan Papelbon, cannot stop yelling to the media about how badly he wants to be traded. Cole Hamels is pitching like a man who has given up on life. And their manager, Ryne Sandberg, ran screaming from his duties, despite the obvious detriment to his career by doing so.

But the most depressing part of the season has been the lightning fast decline of Chase Utley’s career. According to the general manager, Utley is no longer the starting second baseman, even after he comes off the disabled list. This is officially the end of Phillies baseball as we knew it. Indeed, an alternate reality that is painful to watch.

But even with Utley’s downfall, there was no reason to think the Phillies would be THIS bad, as in 62 losses bad, the worst half way mark in team history. There is a lot of young talent here, like Maikel Franco. Ben Revere is hitting .297 with 21 stolen bases and 45 runs scored. Ryan Howard has hit 15 home runs and has 45 RBI, which is really pretty good considering he is on the tail end of his career. Papelbon has been perfect in saves, although he has had limited opportunities. But most of the pitching has be atrocious. Even so, this team should have won more than 29 games, given their talent.

Perhaps Pat Gillick’s pre-season declaration about this team not being able to compete for several years has created a culture of losing? And not only that, but the team seems to have accepted this. They are not showing any fight, maybe because they simply expect to lose. They are just collecting their fat paychecks and then going home. And if this attitude continues, attendance will continue to drop to levels where you can hear crickets chirping. Hopefully, the Phillies will emerge from their slumber in the second half and at least put on a good show. Then again, that could just be the psychedelic acid talking.

Remember was back a few weeks ago when the Phillies won 7 games in a row? Ah, memories! And it does seem like a very distant memory now that the Phillies have just lost 7 games in a row. They were swept by the Rockies today, losing the 3rd game of the series by a score of 1-4.

So just how bad is this team? Let us count the ways…

Before the game started, Cole Hamels tried to convince Kyle Kendrick to come back; Kyle thought this was very funny. Odubel Hererra could not decide on a thumbs up or down for his team, which is sad. And the Phanatic had to bring a Panda friend to the game to stop all the children from crying as the game got worse and worse.

But seriously, the Phillies were already down 0-2 only 5 pitches into the game. This was not a good sign. Jerome Williams has been struggling for a while now and today, he gave up 4 runs in only 5 innings.

The Phillies managed only 7 hits in the game, with Cody Asche scoring the lone run. And this is just how bad it got: In the 7th inning, the Phillies managed to load the bases with no outs and then Cameron Rupp, Darin Ruf and Ben Revere all proceeded to strike out to end the threat. There were not many people left in the stadium at that point, but those who were there boo’ed loudly.

Actually, the attendance was bad even before that. It seems like people are still coming to games for two reasons only – to get free giveaways for their kids or to get really, really, really drunk. I unfortunately had a close encounter with some of those very drunk people today. Two girls and a guy behind me were yelling, cussing, bumping into me and generally being such a nuisance, I was actually ready to call security. Then one of the girls proceeded to throw up – everywhere. Luckily, I heard it coming and moved, but the ground beneath me was puddling up with vomited beer, forcing me to find another seat. And that, folks, just about sums up your 2015 Phillies. A stomach churning, vomit-inducing mess that no one wants to clean up. Yup…nailed it.

And yet, much like seeing an accident on the highway, I can’t stop watching. I keep waiting for the next disaster. Like sending Asche to the minors for two weeks just to piss him off. And then letting Grady Sizemore go when they could have just done that in the first place and let Asche learn left field in the majors. Then Ruben Amaro Jr. bites the hand that feeds him by saying Phillies fans don’t understand the game. By the way, a few days later, I got a call from the Phillies thanking me for being a season ticket holder and offering to upgrade one of my next games for free. Thanks, Ruben! I’d also like free food at my games so maybe Ruben can go on TV again and call fans stupid a few more times…thank you in advance.

So you see where this is all going right? Straight down the proverbial toilet. But before you flush, at least try to enjoy the view 😉

It’s a miracle! The Phillies have won 5 consecutive games! So I learned many things at today’s Phillies game. First, this team can actually win games. Next, Jonathan Papelbon has a tramp stamp and Odubel Herrera can fly.

And finally, getting hit in the face with a ball hurts. Sean O’Sullivan does not recommend it. Perhaps next time, catcher Cameron Rupp will wait to toss the ball until someone is actually paying attention? Just a thought.

Aside from that little once every several decades incident, O’Sullivan had a great day. He pitched 6 scoreless innings and earned his first major league win since the 2011 season. And he was finally healthy; until, of course, Rupp whacked him in the face. But he seemed to be okay afterwards.

Ben Revere led the offense with 3 hits, a walk and an RBI; he is starting to look like the guy who almost won a batting title last year. And Maikel Franco has certainly added some excitement the Phillies line-up. In addition to a triple, he hit his first major league home run today. Darin Ruf also homered and had 2 hits. And even Ryan Howard helped out with a pinch-hit single in the 7th.

Obviously, this team needed a spark and maybe Franco is that guy. Although, I still think Cody Asche got a raw deal being sent to the minors to “learn” left field. He could have done that just as easily here. That brings us to the most awkward part of the day; the Asche whiffle ball and bat set that was handed out to kids entering the gates today. Too bad Cody had to miss it.

And now for the O-M-G moment of the day: After the game, Chad Billingsley was put on the disabled list with a sore right shoulder. So after two elbow surgeries and only 3 starts with the Phillies, Billingsley could well be done. Hector Neris has been recalled to take his place on the roster.

Well, it is official. This is the worst start to a season that the Phillies have had since the 10-22 start in 1997. Today’s loss to the Mets gives the Phils an 11-21 record, which is spectacularly awful. They have been bad in all areas; pitching, offense and defense. Even the bullpen, which was supposed to be the highlight of this team, has been sub-par.

But just to keep us watching, there are a few glimmers of hope here and there; but none of them long-lived. When pitcher Chad Billingsley smashed a solo homer today in the 3rd inning, the small crowd exploded. While it was very exciting, Billingsley crushed the celebratory atmosphere in the top of the 4th by giving that run back to the Mets, who continued to score until Billingsley was finally pulled in the 6th.

Even with the 1-5 deficit, the Phillies kept pushing for a comeback. A string of hits in the 7th inning brought the Phillies to within 1 run of the Mets. But Jeanmar Gomez proceeded to give the Mets 2 more runs in the 8th. The 4-7 hole was one the Phillies meager offense simply could not climb out of.

Here are some burning questions I would like answers to. Why does Ryan Howard insist on first-pitch swinging in critical situations? Is he giving Darrin Ruf lessons? If so, he should stop. Will Ben Revere invent a new outfield spot, since he has already played all 3 current spots this season? Maybe Ryne Sandberg could move him to the outfield stands next just to be annoying? Revere could catch all the home runs this staff keeps giving up. Next, has the bat boy quit? Because Odubel Herrera was seen shagging fouls and discarded balls from the dugout throughout the game. And finally, how much worse will this team get? Oh wait, maybe don’t answer that one…

On a lighter note, Happy Mother’s Day to all the mom’s out there! Darrin Ruf’s mom, dad and wife joined him on the field before the game, which was a bright spot of the day.Here is the full Photo Album from today’s game.

There were a few signs of life from the Phillies in last night’s 4-2 win over the Red Sox. First, the fact that they won after a 0-8 beat down in the home opener is encouraging. Second, pitcher Aaron Harrang dominated the Red Sox line-up. No one was really sure what to expect from Harrang after a spring that seemed to be riddled with back issues. But through 6 1/3 scoreless innings, Harrang proved he is ready to go.

Jeff Francoeur also had something to prove after spending nearly all of last year languishing the Padres minor leagues. He gave the Phillies their first runs of the season with a 3-run homer in the 6th inning. If Francoeur can continue to find some of his old, Braves-days magic, he could see some descent playing time.

Another good sign was the speedy Ben Revere, who turned a Sox error into 3 bases in the 7th inning. His hustle led to a run after Chase Utley hit a sac fly. And Carlos Ruiz had 2 hits on the day batting 2nd, which is also nice to see.

The one not-so-great sign was Ken Giles. He was all over the place pitching in the 8th inning. Giles gave up a hit and 3 walks, which accounted for both Red Sox runs. After he walked a run home, manager Ryne Sandberg finally went out to get him and let Jonathan Papelbon earn a 4-out save against his old team. Giles had some soreness in spring training. His speed is down and his control is missing. One has to wonder how healthy he is.

Tonight, David Buchanan gets his first start after a very encouraging spring. Game time is 7:05pm.

The Phillies season ended today in the same fashion they played throughout the year. There was no offense to be found and lackluster effort. The Phillies were 1 run away from a win with the 2-1 loss to the Braves; pitcher Cole Hamels was 1 win away from double-digit wins for the season; and Ben Revere ended the season 1 base short of 50 stolen bases on the year. Jimmy Rollins spoke before the game, telling fans, “Before we’re done this year, we’d like to say thank you for showing up. We know it was rough, but hopefully we made you guys smile.” Etch that on a tombstone and you have the Phillies 2014 eulogy.

As is tradition for the last home game of the year, today was dubbed “Fan Appreciation Day.” Players signed autographs and jested with fans cheerfully and prizes were given away.

But I’ll tell you when I will feel truly appreciated; when the tickets prices go down to a level worthy of watching a last place team. Don’t worry; I won’t hold my breath.

After all the happy exchanges, the game began and it was more of the same. Poor Cole Hamels did not get even 10 wins this year thanks to an absent offense. Adding insult to injury, Hamels had a team-leading 2 hits in the game but no one could drive him in. He even got whacked on the face with a batted ball and suffered a minor bloody lip. That about summed up his season.

The offense was so bad, players were literally throwing their bats away. Chase Utley, Maikel Franco and Braves pitcher James Russell all tossed their bats mid-swing at different points in the game. I guess they weren’t really using them anyway.

And so ends a dreary Phillies season with little hope for quick recovery. Oh sure, they fired Assistant GM Marti Wolever. But all that really means in Ruben Amaro Jr. keeps his job. And I guess more heads are going to roll, which is appropriate. But how much difference will it make and when? I hope to take a guess at answering some of those questions in the weeks to come. In the meantime, here is my final 2014 Photo Album. Here hoping for a happy off-season!